(In this chapter Lord Krishna tries to clear the fuddled mind of Arjuna using discriminative logic. He tells him that he is not killing anything, because the soul cannot be killed. After establishing this he tells him, that he can command (order about) only his own actions but is helpless in getting the results that he desires.)
Sanjaya told:-
To him who is completely weakened by compassion,
Who was with eyes filled with copious tears?
And who was imprisoned by worries,
Lord Sri Krishna, the killer of Madhu, told thus.
The Lord told:-
Oh Arjuna who is faced with a dangerous situation.
How come this inglorious thought came in to you?
Which is ungentlemanly, which bars your way heaven,
And which would become a blot to your fame.
Oh Arjuna, do not go in this path of thought which is fit to the unmanly,
And cast away this minor weakness of mind and raise up to fight.
Arjuna told:-
Oh killer of Madhu, who is fit for worship,
How can I kill Bheeshma and Drona,
Who are fit to be worshipped by me,
By shooting several arrows at them.
It would rather give fame to eat alms got as charity,
Than to kill such teachers who are very great people,
For I would be forced to enjoy the pleasures,
Which are soaked in the blood of these great ones?
I do not know whether it is better for us to win over the enemy,
Or the enemies to attain a victory over us , but I know,
That against me are arraigned the sons of Drutharashtra,
By killing whom, I will not have any wish to live further.
My conduct has lost its sharpness due to ignorance,
And due to that I am not able to know, what my rightful action is,
And so please tell me which path would lead to me to fame,
For I am your student and have surrendered to you.
Even if I get a country with no enemies, and one with riches,
Or even if I get the kingship of the great heaven,
I do not see any way that would drive away,
My blasting sorrow which wilts my sense organs.
Sanjaya told:-
Arjuna who can kill his enemies,
Told Lord Krishna who is beyond meditation?
That he would not participate in the war,
And simply sat there, in a continued silence.
Oh Drutharashtra, the king of entire India.
Then Sri Krishna smilingly told as follows to Arjuna,
Who sat grieving in the middle of the two armies?
The Lord told:-
You are sorrowing for those who do not merit such sorrow,
And also talking and arguing like a very learned man,
In spite of the fact that wise men do not sorrow,
Over people who are alive or those people who are no more.
There was never a time, when I was not there,
There was no time when you or these kings were not there,
And in future also there will be never a time,
When we both and these kings will not be there.
Clearly understanding the fact that,
All individuals with this body, will attain,
States of childhood, youth and old age,
And after death the soul will reach another body.
Brave (learned?) men never get worried..
Oh Arjuna, we are able to feel the heat or cold,
Or pass through the state of joy and sorrow,
Due the interaction of sense organs with these feelings,
Oh Bharatha, learn to tolerate and understand them,
As they are unstable and appear and then vanish.
Oh king among men, that wise man,
Who is not affected by these feelings?
Who considers pain and pleasure alike?
Would become suitable for immortality.
Philosophers and wise men know that,
“That which is not there, does not exist,
For it would never start to exist,
And that which is there would,
Never cease to exist and be forever.”
Please know that, that which fills all this
Universe is the one that never dies,
And that never undergoes change,
And none can cause destruction to it.
You start fighting in this battle, Arjuna,
For the soul*, which is perennial and stable,
Is beyond destruction and beyond proper understanding,
And is said to occupy this very perishable body.
*I am using the English word ‘soul’ for ‘Athma.’
Some authors use the word “embodied self”
He who thinks that he is killing this soul,
And he who considers that the soul has died,
Are both ignorant, for this soul?
Can kill nobody, nor anybody can kill it.
This soul is never born nor ever dies,
It never comes to existence and later vanishes,
And this soul which is permanent, perennial and old,
Never dies when the body dies.
Hey Arjuna, how can he who knows this soul as,
That which cannot be wounded, perennial and never ever is born,
Ever kill someone or get someone else killed.
Like a man leaving out old worn out cloths,
And start wearing new cloths when necessary,
This soul leaves the body which becomes useless,
And moves on to newer bodies.
This soul cannot be hurt by arrows,
It can never be burnt by fire,
It can never be made wet,
And it can never be dried by any wind.
This soul can never be cut not burnt,
It can never be made wet nor dried,
This is perennial, goes everywhere,
And is stable, immobile and ancient.
This soul can never be seen, is beyond thought,
Beyond actions and the one which cannot be separated,
And once you realize this perennial truth,
You do not have the right to sorrow for it.
Oh great warrior, If you are under the impression,
That this soul is one which is daily born and dying daily,
Even then, you do not have the right to sorrow for it.
For all that is born, certainly dies,
And all that dies is born again,
And so ,on a matter which cannot be corrected,
You do not have the right to sorrow.
What is the point in showing sorrow?
For that which was unclear before birth?
Clear in the central period of time,
And again becoming unclear after death?
Some view it with awe,
others talk about it with awe,
Some others hear about it with awe,
But there is none among them,
Who clearly knows anything about it.
This soul which daily lives inside the body,
Can never be killed at anytime, Arjuna,
So you do not have to sorrow about.
The death of any being in this world.
Even viewing it from the aspect,
Of just action* as applicable to you,
You need not have to worry about it,
Because for one belonging to the kingly race,
There is nothing which brings more fame than war.
* I am using the phrase ‘just action’ instead of Dharma,
Fully realizing that the word Dharma has much bigger connotation.
This war which came in an accidental fashion,
Actually keeps the doors of heaven open,
And is available only to those lucky of the kingly clan,
Who participate whole heartedly in this war.
If you are not going to fight,
This war as per the holy tenets,
Then your fame and dharma would die,
And you would be engulfed in sin.
Instead of talking about your fame,
All beings would talk about your ill fame,
And such talk of ill fame is,
Worse than the state of death.
All great heroes would think,
That you have ran away from the war out of fear,
And all of them having good opinion about you,
Will think of you in a much debased manner.
Your enemies would berate your heroism,
And start talking words which should not be uttered,
And what is there more sorrowful than hearing those words?
Oh Arjuna, if you are killed in this war,
Certainly you will reach heaven,
And if you are victorious you will,
Taste the kingship of a kingdom,
And so get up and start fighting.
Get engaged in this war,
Keeping pain and pleasure equally,
And loss and profit equally,
And then only you will not,
Suffer the results of sin.
I was till now talking to you about,
The discriminative system of philosophy,
And now I am going to talk to you,
About the path of action, knowing which.
You can get freed from the ties of duties.
There is no waste of efforts in this,
And contra effects will never result,
Even a slight practice of this type of action,
Protects you from greatest fears known.
Hey son of Kuru clan, there is only one,
Type of this wisdom which is fixed in goal,
But the brains of those who are wavering,,
Have no definite goal and travels in many ways.
Oh Arjuna, these ignorant men,
Find pleasure in the flowery words of Veda*,
And will ever argue with pride,
That there is nothing greater.
*Reference is made here to the Karma Kanda of Vedas,
Which prescribe specific rites for specific fruits?
They will tell you , those actions,
Results of actions and repeated births,
Are meant for experiencing joy,
And they would drown themselves in desires.
They will tell you words which are similar,
To the fruit less flowering tree,
And since they travel behind desires,
Will not have time for any meditation*.
* The word Samadhi indicates a state of oneness of mind
Through meditation.
Sanjaya told:-
To him who is completely weakened by compassion,
Who was with eyes filled with copious tears?
And who was imprisoned by worries,
Lord Sri Krishna, the killer of Madhu, told thus.
The Lord told:-
Oh Arjuna who is faced with a dangerous situation.
How come this inglorious thought came in to you?
Which is ungentlemanly, which bars your way heaven,
And which would become a blot to your fame.
Oh Arjuna, do not go in this path of thought which is fit to the unmanly,
And cast away this minor weakness of mind and raise up to fight.
Arjuna told:-
Oh killer of Madhu, who is fit for worship,
How can I kill Bheeshma and Drona,
Who are fit to be worshipped by me,
By shooting several arrows at them.
It would rather give fame to eat alms got as charity,
Than to kill such teachers who are very great people,
For I would be forced to enjoy the pleasures,
Which are soaked in the blood of these great ones?
I do not know whether it is better for us to win over the enemy,
Or the enemies to attain a victory over us , but I know,
That against me are arraigned the sons of Drutharashtra,
By killing whom, I will not have any wish to live further.
My conduct has lost its sharpness due to ignorance,
And due to that I am not able to know, what my rightful action is,
And so please tell me which path would lead to me to fame,
For I am your student and have surrendered to you.
Even if I get a country with no enemies, and one with riches,
Or even if I get the kingship of the great heaven,
I do not see any way that would drive away,
My blasting sorrow which wilts my sense organs.
Sanjaya told:-
Arjuna who can kill his enemies,
Told Lord Krishna who is beyond meditation?
That he would not participate in the war,
And simply sat there, in a continued silence.
Oh Drutharashtra, the king of entire India.
Then Sri Krishna smilingly told as follows to Arjuna,
Who sat grieving in the middle of the two armies?
The Lord told:-
You are sorrowing for those who do not merit such sorrow,
And also talking and arguing like a very learned man,
In spite of the fact that wise men do not sorrow,
Over people who are alive or those people who are no more.
There was never a time, when I was not there,
There was no time when you or these kings were not there,
And in future also there will be never a time,
When we both and these kings will not be there.
Clearly understanding the fact that,
All individuals with this body, will attain,
States of childhood, youth and old age,
And after death the soul will reach another body.
Brave (learned?) men never get worried..
Oh Arjuna, we are able to feel the heat or cold,
Or pass through the state of joy and sorrow,
Due the interaction of sense organs with these feelings,
Oh Bharatha, learn to tolerate and understand them,
As they are unstable and appear and then vanish.
Oh king among men, that wise man,
Who is not affected by these feelings?
Who considers pain and pleasure alike?
Would become suitable for immortality.
Philosophers and wise men know that,
“That which is not there, does not exist,
For it would never start to exist,
And that which is there would,
Never cease to exist and be forever.”
Please know that, that which fills all this
Universe is the one that never dies,
And that never undergoes change,
And none can cause destruction to it.
You start fighting in this battle, Arjuna,
For the soul*, which is perennial and stable,
Is beyond destruction and beyond proper understanding,
And is said to occupy this very perishable body.
*I am using the English word ‘soul’ for ‘Athma.’
Some authors use the word “embodied self”
He who thinks that he is killing this soul,
And he who considers that the soul has died,
Are both ignorant, for this soul?
Can kill nobody, nor anybody can kill it.
This soul is never born nor ever dies,
It never comes to existence and later vanishes,
And this soul which is permanent, perennial and old,
Never dies when the body dies.
Hey Arjuna, how can he who knows this soul as,
That which cannot be wounded, perennial and never ever is born,
Ever kill someone or get someone else killed.
Like a man leaving out old worn out cloths,
And start wearing new cloths when necessary,
This soul leaves the body which becomes useless,
And moves on to newer bodies.
This soul cannot be hurt by arrows,
It can never be burnt by fire,
It can never be made wet,
And it can never be dried by any wind.
This soul can never be cut not burnt,
It can never be made wet nor dried,
This is perennial, goes everywhere,
And is stable, immobile and ancient.
This soul can never be seen, is beyond thought,
Beyond actions and the one which cannot be separated,
And once you realize this perennial truth,
You do not have the right to sorrow for it.
Oh great warrior, If you are under the impression,
That this soul is one which is daily born and dying daily,
Even then, you do not have the right to sorrow for it.
For all that is born, certainly dies,
And all that dies is born again,
And so ,on a matter which cannot be corrected,
You do not have the right to sorrow.
What is the point in showing sorrow?
For that which was unclear before birth?
Clear in the central period of time,
And again becoming unclear after death?
Some view it with awe,
others talk about it with awe,
Some others hear about it with awe,
But there is none among them,
Who clearly knows anything about it.
This soul which daily lives inside the body,
Can never be killed at anytime, Arjuna,
So you do not have to sorrow about.
The death of any being in this world.
Even viewing it from the aspect,
Of just action* as applicable to you,
You need not have to worry about it,
Because for one belonging to the kingly race,
There is nothing which brings more fame than war.
* I am using the phrase ‘just action’ instead of Dharma,
Fully realizing that the word Dharma has much bigger connotation.
This war which came in an accidental fashion,
Actually keeps the doors of heaven open,
And is available only to those lucky of the kingly clan,
Who participate whole heartedly in this war.
If you are not going to fight,
This war as per the holy tenets,
Then your fame and dharma would die,
And you would be engulfed in sin.
Instead of talking about your fame,
All beings would talk about your ill fame,
And such talk of ill fame is,
Worse than the state of death.
All great heroes would think,
That you have ran away from the war out of fear,
And all of them having good opinion about you,
Will think of you in a much debased manner.
Your enemies would berate your heroism,
And start talking words which should not be uttered,
And what is there more sorrowful than hearing those words?
Oh Arjuna, if you are killed in this war,
Certainly you will reach heaven,
And if you are victorious you will,
Taste the kingship of a kingdom,
And so get up and start fighting.
Get engaged in this war,
Keeping pain and pleasure equally,
And loss and profit equally,
And then only you will not,
Suffer the results of sin.
I was till now talking to you about,
The discriminative system of philosophy,
And now I am going to talk to you,
About the path of action, knowing which.
You can get freed from the ties of duties.
There is no waste of efforts in this,
And contra effects will never result,
Even a slight practice of this type of action,
Protects you from greatest fears known.
Hey son of Kuru clan, there is only one,
Type of this wisdom which is fixed in goal,
But the brains of those who are wavering,,
Have no definite goal and travels in many ways.
Oh Arjuna, these ignorant men,
Find pleasure in the flowery words of Veda*,
And will ever argue with pride,
That there is nothing greater.
*Reference is made here to the Karma Kanda of Vedas,
Which prescribe specific rites for specific fruits?
They will tell you , those actions,
Results of actions and repeated births,
Are meant for experiencing joy,
And they would drown themselves in desires.
They will tell you words which are similar,
To the fruit less flowering tree,
And since they travel behind desires,
Will not have time for any meditation*.
* The word Samadhi indicates a state of oneness of mind
Through meditation.
